More Than Friends, Less Than
by Little Miss Writing Prodigy
Summary: ONESHOT He says it so simply, so carefree, and yet, she has no doubt that he knows exactly just what kind of meaning his words held.


_**So...uhm, yeah. Fairy Tail's done, huh?**_

* * *

"I love you."

Zero warning, zero buildup, zero preparation or even _hesitation,_ for that matter. He'd said it so simply, as if the two of them had been discussing the damn weather before he decided to drop such a bomb on her without even having any reason too. His voice is light, controlled, somehow composed yet so _him_ at the same time. He isn't looking at her, just stares out in front of him with his eyes focused somewhere behind the bar as he takes another sip of his fire whiskey, and momentarily, she wonders if he isn't drunk already.

With him actively avoiding meeting her gaze, Lucy can't tell what he's thinking, and it frustrates her because she has no doubt in her mind that he _knows_ she can't get a read on him like this and is most likely doing it on purpose. After all, it was no secret that he struggled with 'sappy, emotional stuff' such as these, and if that really was what was happening right now, then he was doing a pretty damn good job of masking it.

Lucy isn't prepared for the sudden confession, so instead of reacting like she wants to- pause, raise a brow, ask him to repeat himself -she completely freezes up, her drink slipping from her grasp and it's his quick reflexes that save her from having to clean up the guild floor. He catches the glass quicker than she can comprehend, yet maintains calm as he places it on the bar right in front of her- still avoiding her gaze and her eyes catch Mira's, who is standing behind the bar; equally as stunned, from what she can tell. Honestly, Lucy would have expected her to be jumping for joy right now, but she guesses the abruptness of the confession had even managed to catch her off guard. She's got a glass and a rag in her palms, having been right in the middle of cleaning when he'd voiced his thoughts. He's still silent, rimming the glass with his fingertip and lazily moving it around in circles. It's still half-full, though he hasn't made the move to take another sip, apparently waiting for something- waiting for her answer. An answer she can't give.

It's an answer she can't give because he's completely stunned her into silence. No amount of writer's block could compare to the speechlessness she is feeling right now, and the thought of her winning an author prize is laughable at best when she can't even bring herself to properly answer to something her best friend had said. Lucy can only stare, and somewhere, in the back of her mind, she picks up on the way his finger had stopped moving against the glass, before sliding down and gripping the base tightly. Nervous. He was nervous.

"Luce?"

"W-what? Oh! U-uhm-" She clears her throat, risks a glance at Mira- it doesn't really help much. "Wh-what did you just-"

He smiles and downs the rest of his drink; seems almost bashful while doing so- if the slightly reddened tips of his ears and averted gaze are anything to go by, that is and Lucy feels her heart thump. For some reason, Natsu glances back somewhere behind him, and she follows his gaze. She finds a red-faced and wide-eyed Wendy staring at them, right across the guild hall and sporting an expression she'd only seen twice before at Lucy's celebration party, which could only mean-

"I love you."

-That she hadn't misheard him, and he'd just said it again.

"Wh-wha- y-you- d-did you j-just-"

He sighs, turns to her as if _he's_ the one having difficulties comprehending this. "Really, Lucy, how many times are ya gonna make me say it?"

"U-uhm..." her eyes land on his empty drink, and she counts the glasses in her head. Three...four...five, maybe? That's about as much as she's seen him down in-between silly jokes with Happy and snarky comments thrown at Gray. It was always possible that he'd had more while she wasn't looking, but even so, his eyes are clear as he watches her; waiting, waiting, _waiting._

"I-I..." Mira isn't there, discreetly having slipped away to give them as much privacy as possible in the crowded and undeniably rowdy guild, though Lucy doesn't doubt she is still within hearing range, had most likely taken Cana with her, too. Either way, the Celestial mage is on her own now, it seems.

 _Jesus,_ how do you even reply to a confession like _that?_

Mutual feelings wasn't an issue, she could say that with as much certainty needed. She's always loved him, though not in the instant romantic way the sappy love stories on her shelf liked to make her believe. Lucy's love for him had started out as admiration (and slight irritation) the first time they'd met, then proceeded to develop into the type of love she reserved for her closest friends- the type she felt for Gray, Erza, Happy, Wendy, Levy- _everyone._ And then finally, it had shifted and morphed itself into what she's feeling right now- what she presumes he means with his sudden declaration.

 _Presumes;_ because there's always the chance that she's reading into the situation wrongly and he just means it in a friendly way- or even sisterly, for that matter. Clear eyes or not, five glasses of a drink as strong as the one he was downing had to at least have him a little tipsy, if not outright drunk.

So she takes a deep breath to calm herself and her rapidly beating heart, counts to ten in her mind- thinks of Loke's painfully cheesy pickup lines just for good measure and faces him again. He's nursing his glass now, fingers carefully working on spinning it back and forth and she doesn't have a single doubt in her mind that her constant silence was even having him on edge.

"Do you mean that?"

Natsu freezes, his hands sticking to the glass as if it were part of his skin and she wonders if he's even heard her, he's quiet for so long. His reaction could just as well be due to something he'd heard going on _outside_ of the guild, or maybe Gray and Gajeel were badmouthing him again; baiting him into another one of their brawls. It was hard to tell with him sometimes.

And then he's leaning in, face so close Lucy finds herself leaning back in her chair to escape those determined, captivating eyes.

 _Escape?_ Is that what she's doing? Is she trying to escape him? Escape the confrontation of what this conversation was leading to? Or maybe it's the way him being so close has her heart giving up on her. She doesn't _know._

No, wait, she does. She does, because there's simply _no_ way this mystery feeling could be mistaken for anything else. She isn't trying to escape him, isn't trying to run away, isn't trying to hide- Lucy isn't doing any of those things. She's-

"Of course I do!" Natsu leans in closer, close enough to invade her personal space and he feels warm and smells of alcohol and fire and she's looking at his lips and _oh god, oh god, oh god._ "C'mon, Luce, you gotta give me some credit here!"

His eyes are stern, yet as playful as always. His mouth is quirked into one of those half-grins of his- the one that has her heart stopping, and the one he just so happens to pull every other day; usually when he's listening to her talk, watching her write or read, playing silly games together- just when he's with her in general.

"I wouldn't just say it if I wasn't serious!" He grins cheekily, but it's not nearly enough to stop her from noticing the way his eyes drift lower. Natsu's the one watching her lips now, and he's leaning in closer and _oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god-_

He stops, looks around again, seems to realize just where exactly they were and pulls back. Lucy is able to breathe again as he sinks back into his seat, quirky smile still plastered on his lips and yet, the blonde can't help but feel a little disappointed for some reason.

-No, not for some reason. It was pretty obvious to her why she was feeling so weird all of a sudden. She wanted him to kiss her, was most likely getting her hopes up for it somewhere in her subconscious. That's when Lucy Heartfilia decides to answer him properly, because what use was there in dancing around the topic for any longer that they'd already had? If this kept going on any longer, she had a feeling they still wouldn't have properly faced the issue even when the both of them had turned old and gray.

"I love you too."

And the way he stops and beams at her is enough to have her heart melting.

* * *

 _ **I...don't know if any of you have read my works before, but if you have; I'm trying out a new writing style. I don't know if it's really that much of a difference, but if you can't tell, this little thing is written in present tense while my others are strictly past tense.**_

 _ **Fairy Tail ended, and I thought I might as well try out something new if I was going to write Nalu again.**_

 _ **Hope you enjoyed!**_

 _ **See ya!**_


End file.
